The Louvre in Paris, the world's most visited museum, closed to visitors on Sunday after staff refused to work due to coronavirus fears, unions and management said.

Around 300 staff met in the morning and voted “almost unanimously” not to open, Christian Galani of the CGT labour union told AFP, leaving many would-be visitors disappointed.

The Louvre, near the banks of the Seine river in central Paris, received 9.6 million visitors last year, most of them foreigners including Americans, Chinese and Europeans.